Diwali Dancing - During Experience Religion & Worldviews, the children celebrated Diwali with The Ramayana Dance Workshop. Using dramatic situations and actions of the main characters in the Ramayana, they retold the epic Hindu story of Prince Rama and his wife Sita through dance. Important cross-cultural concepts like the power of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, freedom over oppression, and hope over despair were all touched upon. Diwali is embraced by a number of religions and is a metaphor for the idea of self-improvement. By retelling the famous story through dance, children improve their cultural understanding and confidence in self-expression. The children had a fabulous time learning the dance and were complimented on their superb efforts! 

Muslims & Islam– The Imam Sadiqul and two brothers from the Torquay Islamic Centre came in to share their faith with the children. The Year 5 children were very curious about prayer and what other activities take place at the mosque, how old children have to be before taking part in Ramadan, and how old the Imam was when he was able to take part. The children had many questions and asked them in a patient and respectful manner. At the end of the session, the Imam shared the Call to Prayer which was totally mesmerizing and a real spiritual moment. 

Humanists. Lisa spoke about how she discovered Humanism as a young adult.  She explored the key concepts, such as the belief in no God, no life after death, and living one life really well. She talked about the Happy Human and asked the children what they would include in their recipe for a Happiness Pie. Lisa also explored the different lenses people use to see things. For example, a Christian may think about the Fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden Eden, while a Humanist may think about being the best person they could be for their one life. 

Christians. Reverend Wilkie from our parish church, St. Mary’s, and Hannah from Riviera Life Church talked to the children about shared similarities – Jesus Christ- and differences, such as age of Baptism. The children were really intrigued about the latter and what it meant for followers of Christian denominations. 

Buddhists. Jeanine and Jeremy, Buddhists from our local area, visited the Year 3 and 4 children.  They explained how The Buddha was a real person, Siddhartha Gautama (the son of a king), and the chief female patron of the Buddha is called Visakha. The Buddha's teachings are known as the Dharma, which Buddhist monks follow. Jeanine and Jeremy also talked about the Eightfold Path which Buddhists follow: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.